Margo Smith, '12 made sure her math skills counted for something meaningful this summer at the USC Shoah Foundation Institute, where she helped improve the search algorithm for the institute's database of more than 52,000 video testimonies from survivors and other witnesses of the Holocaust. "I made their words easier to get to," she said.

Inspired by his experience making Schindler's List, Steven Spielberg founded the institute in 1994 to record recollections. Smith's project blended the logic of abstract reasoning with the emotion of human horror. To prepare, she screened Schindler's List and many of the clips in the archive. "It's hard to watch any of those videos and not be affected," she said. "I knew the basic history of the Holocaust, but exposure to this database personalized the tragedy for me with some of the most incredible stories I've ever heard. I remember watching the testimony of one woman who miraculously escaped Auschwitz. Here she was, at age 90, sitting on her couch in Florida, telling us about it."

The nine-week internship in Los Angeles helped Smith pursue, hands-on, her interest in applied mathematics. "Math can be one of the most impractical fields in the world, but I want something concrete to come from my work instead of working out some abstract theory that somebody might find an application for someday," she said. She and her project team helped puncture some myths about math when they summarized their work before a group of historians and other scholars who frequently use the archive. "These were people who avoided math at all costs and who were just astounded about how it could be used to help their research," she said.

Smith credited an off-campus study program and the close relationships she shared with faculty members for helping her land the coveted internship. The institute was impressed with her study abroad at the Budapest Semester in Mathematics, chosen through the Center for Global Engagement, and the enthusiastic letters of recommendations she received from her professors. "One reason the math program is so good here is that all the students receive personalized attention. I can talk to any one of my professors about anything."

A double major in math and neuroscience, Smith plans to attend graduate school and pursue a career in a branch of applied mathematics, such as computational neuroscience or industrial mathematics. "I definitely want to practice math for something useful," she said. Smith continues to make her mark outside the classroom as captain of the women's club rugby team. "There's nothing better for clearing the mind and forgetting about everything than tackling someone," she said.